[MAINTENANCE] Engine V1 support is being removed July 29th

[playcanvas-bot]

Hi everyone,

On July 29th, the PlayCanvas Editor will drop support for Engine V1.

Engine V2 has been the default Editor runtime for some time, and the Engine V1 Editor path has remained available as a deprecated fallback while teams completed their migration. From July 29th, the Editor will no longer support Engine V1 as an Editor option.

This change applies to the PlayCanvas Editor. Existing published builds are not modified by this announcement, but any project you continue to edit, launch, publish, or download through the Editor should be validated on Engine V2.

Before July 29th

• Open each active project in the latest Editor and verify that it behaves correctly.
• Switch projects to Engine V2 where possible.
• Review visual differences, especially rendering, texture color space, post effects, and older script patterns.
• Use the migration docs to address Engine V1 to Engine V2 differences.

On and after July 29th

• The Editor will no longer support Engine V1.
• Engine V1 Editor fallback options will no longer be available.
• Projects should be edited and validated using Engine V2.
• Existing published builds will not be changed by this update.
• Engine V1 will remain in LTS and receive critical bug fixes only.

Helpful links:

• Engine compatibility: https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/editor/engine-compatibility/
• Engine V1 to V2 migration: https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/engine/migrations/
• Scripting migration guide: https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/scripting/migration-guide/
• Engine settings: https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/editor/interface/settings/engine/

If you find a project that cannot be moved to Engine V2 before July 29th, please raise it on the forum, GitHub Issues, or Discord with a minimal repro and screenshots where possible.

[yeissonGutierrrez]

After this report, PlayCanvas started malfunctioning; when trying to add an entity to a script, it doesn't add it but simply selects it instead.

Update; It only supports dragging the element; the way it worked before was better. my version is 2.2.0.1

[ForgeableSum]

WTF? You just let people know about this via a notification the day before? This is absurd.

[ForgeableSum]

Great, now i can't even set a texture in the editor. Perfect timing, right before a deployment.

We really need to get off play canvas.

[ForgeableSum]

Nothing works. "You're required to migrate your entire project to a new thing by tom and btw, nothing works either. Peace!"

[willeastcott]

After this report, PlayCanvas started malfunctioning; when trying to add an entity to a script, it doesn't add it but simply selects it instead.

Update; It only supports dragging the element; the way it worked before was better. my version is 2.2.0.1

Fix incoming. Stay tuned. In the meantime, drag and drop works as normal.

[ForgeableSum]

@willeastcott I'm curious as to what goes into the decision making here. Like, how do you get together and decide "we should force everyone off the old version of the editor, force them into a big migration and let them know about it 2 days beforehand."

I'm sure you will say in your defense you let people know about it months before in some kind of obscure newsletter, as if reading every line of the play canvas newsletter is high on everyone's priority list.

Can I ask why such a decision was made?

[willeastcott]

@ForgeableSum We originally promised to support Engine v1 in the Editor for at least a year:

August 22nd, 2024
https://blog.playcanvas.com/playcanvas-engine-hits-2-0-0#what-if-my-project-breaks

We're some way beyond that now. And we then made the following announcement:

May 14th, 2026
https://forum.playcanvas.com/t/important-playcanvas-editor-support-for-engine-v1-ends-on-july-1st/42242

I think it's important to remember that all projects are now in V2 format but can support V1 in a backwards compatibility mode. So switching to V2 should just work for the vast majority of projects. Any small snags, we've had well over a year to work through with developers. I don't think it's fair to characterise this as letting developers know 2 days before. If there is a problem with your project when flipping to V2, let us know and we are here to provide assistance.

[willeastcott]

After this report, PlayCanvas started malfunctioning; when trying to add an entity to a script, it doesn't add it but simply selects it instead.
Update; It only supports dragging the element; the way it worked before was better. my version is 2.2.0.1

Fix incoming. Stay tuned. In the meantime, drag and drop works as normal.

The problem PR has now been rolled back. Apologies for the inconvenience. We'll ensure this case is added to our regression testing.

[ForgeableSum]

@willeastcott Do you really think though that people are reading forums for every SAAS they use? A better question: are people reading forums in 2026?
Not only do they need to stay on top of the forum but they need to see that particular announcement in an ocean of forum posts.
The warning in play canvas editor is something everyone WILL see, but you only put it up a few days ahead of time.

[willeastcott]

@ForgeableSum I think we need to keep things in perspective. Of course it is always possible for people to miss announcements (even if it's in the Editor since not everyone opens the Editor on a regular basis). As I've said before, the vast majority of projects will trivially just work - switching between V1 and V2 in the Editor UI changes nothing in your project data. In the event you do encounter something unexpected, we can help you trivially fix it. If you have any concerns about any particular projects, just drop a note to support 'at' playcanvas 'dot' com and we'll be happy to take a look.

[jros04]

I wouldn't say diabolical.
It's not the way you normally treat your customers. I'm not sure what V1 users have done to get this punishment.

[willeastcott]

@jros04 Can you please share the project id of the project (or projects) that do not behave correctly when you flip to v2?